Sunday, May 31, 2009

“You need a defeat to give value to your victories. It's the end of the road and I have to accept my defeat as I accepted my victories: with calm. I have to stay cool‑headed to try to analyse what I did wrong. I need to learn, and you learn more when you lose than when you win. I need to work on those points where I wasn't good, and from there try and do better for my next tournament.”--Rafael Nadal

if BEAUTY can be rightly applied to a MALE of the species....it is applied to Nadal. his Beauty is that kind that was once Idealized by the Ancient Greeks...which to them was considered the highest of all.

in it is in Nadal today that the inscription from rudyard Kipling in the entrance to wimbledon completely, fully, perfectly applies:

"WHEN YOU TREAT WITH BOTH VICTORY AND DEFEAT THE SAME CALM SPIRIT...AND TREAT THEM BOTH AS THE SAME IMPOSTOR...YOU ARE A CHAMPION...AND WHAT'S MORE, MY FRIEND, YOU ARE A MAN".

He really understands what it means to accept the good with the bad and to make each opportunity a chance to improve and get better - whether the opportunity was defeat or victory, loss or celebration. He's so right that we learn from our mistakes and not the easy stuff.

Watching Nadal leave the court, I felt awful for him. He looked like Fed losing Wimbledon.Reading this quote reaffirms what we've seen for years now, that Nadal is the CLASS of the tour, as a sportsman and as a human being.If he could say that minutes after such a devastating loss, there is no doubt that we will be seeing the same fierce competitor continuing on.I believe that these is something cathartic in Nadal's game- throwing his complete power into every shot, rather than holding back in fear- this is something all of us can envy because it is a UNIVERSAL idea. Though I am not a Nadal fan, it is hard not to root for him, because we all live vicariously through someone who plays with his heart exposed.

Great interview with Rafa. The good news for him is that there's definitely room for a lot of improvement, I don't think he played well at all today.

The other biggest loser this week is Djokovic. If he lost because the thought of facing Rafa was hanging around in the back of his head, then he just learned a lesson never to look too far ahead in the draw. Even the "guaranteed" chosen ones can lose unexpectedly. Novak must be kicking himself right about now.

You're so right, Craig. And that was a tough loss for Soderling in Madrid. I don't like the guy, but I have to give him ALL props for today's win, and also for his comments in his own presser after. Can I root for him to win? Yes, I could.